Don't let snippy players bother you

By John Grochowski

Table games aren’t always easy on new players — and not just because of the odds of the game or unfamiliarity with rules and procedures.

Other players can add to the discomfort, especially at a strategy-laden game like blackjack where some veterans feel compelled to critique the play of newbies.

One difficult session led a player named David to contact me. He’s a casual player who goes to the casinos for a little fun, and mostly sticks to slot machines. He said he boned up on his blackjack skills before a trip to Las Vegas, but still was a little nervous when he sat down to play at the MGM Grand.

“The dealer certainly knew right off I was a beginner and was very tolerant of my play.” he told me. “The other players were polite and never made a fuss. Then this young man – I’m 50, this guy was probably mid 20s – sits down next to me and immediately begins commenting on every play I made. Saying stuff like, “Oh, that’s not a good move,” or “Why are you doing that?” or “Oh, you shouldn’t do that at all.” He wasn’t pestering anyone else at the table, just me.

“It was very irritating and impolite. I eventually left the table. Would I have been within my rights as a player and a guest at the hotel to ask the dealer to remove that guy from the table? Or is it solely the dealer’s or pit boss’s call to deal with rude idiots like that?”

In an ideal world, one player would be able to say to another, “Look, I’m new at this, would you just let me feel my way through?” But I can understand why a nervous newbie would be reluctant to speak up. And not all critics would take the request well.

The next step would be to ask the dealer or pit boss to intercede. But remember, they don’t want to lose either the newbie or the critic as a customer.

I remember the first time I played blackjack in a casino, more than two decades ago. I’d known the basic rules of the game since I was around 11, and a second cousin taught blackjack to kids in the extended family that had gathered at my great grandfather’s house one New Year’s Day.

A decade and a half later, I used to grumble when one of my co-workers in Colorado Springs would want to deal blackjack in home poker games. At the time, I didn’t know about house edges, and certainly didn’t know about basic strategy. What I knew was that I always lost.

But the first time I dared play in a casino was in the 1980s, at Bally’s in Las Vegas. I’d been sticking to video poker and slots, and finally worked up nerve to go to the table. I don’t remember the misplay I’d made, but I heard a woman behind me say, “Oooh, he shouldn’t have done that, should he?” And her significant other seated at the table said, “Shhhh.”

I left a few hands later, a few dollars shorter in the bankroll and a little more embarrassed.

That one comment was mild compared with the running commentary David was subjected to. It’s a problem in blackjack, one that gives inexperienced players a reason to stick to the slots, where no one is criticizing their decisions.

Part of the problem is that some players believe their chances of winning are being hurt when another player makes a mistake. And on any one hand, it’s possible another player’s decision – right or wrong – will hurt. If the dealer has a 6 face up and a 10 down, it’s possible that my drawing a high card will prevent the dealer from busting and cost you money.

It’s also possible that my drawing a low card will take away the card that would make the dealer’s hand, saving you money instead. It works both ways, and in the long run, it balances out.

Players show a lot of selective memory and remember the times another player’s draw hurts them, while not even noticing when another player’s draw is the reason they win. It’s best to just ignore the play of others, or to change tables if it’s really going to bother you.

But harping on the mistakes of others during play just intimidates the newcomers at no real gain for anyone else.

I’ve never seen a casino employee ask a player to leave, or to change tables, or even to tone it down, for criticizing another customer’s play. Perhaps they should.

- John Grochowski has covered the casino industry for 15 years in newspapers and magazines, and is the author of six books on casino games. Readers can email him at casinoanswerman@casinoanswerman.com.